The need to improve the energy efficiency of automotive vehicles has been well documented. Efforts have therefore been untaken to utilize alternative energy sources to power vehicle loads. For example, vehicles equipped with photovoltaic modules, or solar panels, utilize solar energy captured from the sun. The photovoltaic modules convert the solar energy into electricity for charging the vehicle battery or for powering various other electrical loads. The operating temperatures of solar cells increase during the photovoltaic conversion process. Solar cell performance often decreases as its operating temperature increases.